Background

The thrash metal sound of Slayer was formed in Huntington Beach, CA in 1982. Comprising Tom Araya (bass, vocals), Kerry King (guitar), Jeff Hanneman (guitar) and Dave Lombardo (drums), they made their debut in 1983, with a track on the compilation Metal Massacre III. After that the rest has been history. The band played at breakneck speed with amazing technical precision, but the intricacies of detail were lost in a muddy production. Araya's lyrics dealt with death, carnage, Satanism and torture, but were reduced to an indecipherable guttural howl. But this chaos called music is what set the ways for Slayer and many bands to follow.

Through the years, Slayer has been hit with much controversy over their lyrics, including lawsuits. But through the years Slayer has managed to build a following from coast to coast. Slayer has played such tours as Monsters of Rock, Ozzfest, and recently toured the U.S. co-headling with Pantera.

Now almost 20 years later, Slayer is still playing just as hard as ever. Will Slayer ever stop? Not likely, considering they are keeping up with thrash bands half their age, after all they did start it!

"When The Stillness Comes," the first new track from Slayer in nearly a year, will be available as part of Record Store Day on April 18th.

The song, accompanied by a live recording of "Black Magic" from the band's 1983 album "Show No Mercy" and recorded live at the 2014 Wacken Open Air Festival, will be available as a limited-edition (only 5000 copies worldwide), 7-inch vinyl picture disc exclusively at all participating independent record stories worldwide.

Log onto this location for the list of participating Record Store Day stores.

Slayer - Tom Araya, Kerry King and Paul Bostaph - recorded "When The Stillness Comes" last year in Los Angeles with producer Terry Date. Currently, the band is in the final stages of recording what will be its first new album since 2009's "World Painted Blood," which is expected out later this year.

The Outaouais Rock team is proud to unveil the complete lineup for the 10th edition of Amnesia Rockfest, which will be held from June 18th to 21st at the Montebello marina in Quebec.

This year's edition will feature over 100 bands, including headliners System Of A Down (assuming you can wash the taste of that godawful "Crazy Train" cover out of your mouth by then...) and Linkin Park.

Two months to the day since the last episode, the MetalUnderground.com podcast is back. This time, our regular co-host Kevin Perez (aka N0thinghead) is joined by longtime member, F.A.N. and veteran staff member Oliver Hynes (aka Diamond Oz/me) to discuss the MetalUnderground.com Best of 2014 Awards and whether or not they agree with the choices voted by staff members, as well as who they felt perhaps should have fared better.

The show also features Saboter as its unsigned band of the week, opening the show with the exciting thrash metal band's song, "Eye of Terror," before closing with their track, "Redemption."

Check out the new podcast at this location and feel free to leave us your feedback!

During an appearance at last month's NAMM show in Anaheim, California, Gary Holt of Exodus and Slayer unveiled his new signature model based on the ESP Eclipse. The Gary Holt signature models come in a high-end ESP version (ESP Gary Holt) and 2 LTD versions, the GH-600 and GH-200. All come with Floyd Rose tremolo system and dual humbucker pickups.

Explains Gary: "We have 3 price-point models. You have the top-of-the-line, most badass guitar I've ever seen and ever been associated with. And then you have, over there, you have the black-and-red one, which I think is as stunning as anything. It's affordable and it plays amazing - an incredible guitar. And here you have your starter guitar, which is still better than anything I started out with as a kid. It's, like, awesome."

Check out Gary Holt demonstrating his new ESP signature-model guitar below. And yes he has a great shirt too.

After a record-breaking 2014 with over 60,000 fans in attendance, Rocklahoma - presented by Bud Light - returns to “Catch the Fever” Festival Grounds in Pryor, OK for its ninth year on May 22nd, 23rd, and 24th with a lineup featuring top current rock artists and classic bands.

The three-day camping festival features music on three stages each day. In addition, the campground stage hosts performances during the Thursday night campground party and in the afternoon and late night hours on Friday, Saturday. and Sunday. The current band lineup for Rocklahoma 2015 is as follows:

“We literally spend months and months piecing together the exact right mix of artists for Rocklahoma each year,” commented Joe Litvag, co-executive producer of the festival for AEG Live. “Linkin Park and Slayer happen to be two of the most requested artists by the fans of Rocklahoma to play, so to get them both at the same time is a major coup. But surrounding them with the exact right element of bands that span the spectrum of classic to current and metal to lighter rock, that’s the key. This year’s lineup has that perfect balance with a little something for everyone.”

Filthy Frackers created an 8-bit video game trailer for "The Big Four" featuring none other than Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax in classic video game form.

The video takes classics such as Metallica’s "One", Slayer’s "Raining Blood", Megadeth's "Seating Bullets" and Anthrax's "Madhouse" and gives it a chiptune 8-bit twist, complete with video game visuals and cameos from the likes of Mario and Bowser in recreations of their songs.

What was old is now new again, as much like with Hollywood returning to Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and Terminator, metal heads had a desire for past and present to collide throughout 2014.

This was another year of major reunions and comebacks with the likes of At The Gates, Slipknot, Sanctuary, and Massacre all returning with new material. The long dead Coal Chamber also came back to life, although we won't see an actual release until next year (with varying opinions on to whether that particular resurrection was wanted or needed).

Besides all the blasts from the past, this was a year marked by spectacles in the metal world – some truly unfortunate and others less so. Heavy metal managed to hit the Facebook trending bar and gain exposure to millions when 92 year old actor Christopher Lee released his Metal Knight EP and Christmas single ”Darkest Carols, Faithful Sing.”

Tim Lambesis of As I Lay Dying was finally sentenced after being arrested back in 2013 for attempting to hire a hitman to kill his ex-wife – an act that lead to the creation of Wovenwar, featuring the remaining members of As I Lay Dying as well as a fellow ex-believer from Oh, Sleeper.

This was also the year that included Roadrunner Records botching the release of the first Opeth single from “Pale Communion” and subsequently breaking the Internet. And who could forget Wintersun's infamous rant (perhaps best summarized as “I can't possibly record an album unless its in my own personal studio that someone else has paid for”), which sent a horde of lemming-like fans to send death threats to the Nuclear Blast Facebook page?

Typical metal shenanigans aside, this was actually a solid year for metal overall even past the major reunions. Now moving into 2015, the big question marks are if that Metallica album actually comes out, when Dimmu Borgir is finally going to get around to leaking some new info, and for those of us who have been impatiently waiting since 2012 – when will God Of Atheists finally drop that debut release that we voted most anticipated two years ago?

Before any of those questions come close to getting answers, let's take a look back at what 2014 had to offer for metal fans... More...

On Tuesday November 18th, PBS stood for Public Bruising Service as The Moody Theater filmed Slayer for another broadcast of ACL Live. Not only did Slayer bring the darkest and fastest songs to ever appear on public broadcasting, they did it with an old school thrasher’s dream lineup of Exodus and Suicidal Tendencies supporting. Fans were treated to one of the best light shows, sound systems and seating in the town of Austin. More...

The upcoming book "...And Justice For Art" tells the stories behind the making of album covers like Slayer's "Reign In Blood, "Death's "Symbolic," Carcass' "Heartwork," At The Gates' "Slaughter Of The Soul," Opeth's "Heritage," and many others.

It features more than 400 color images including the works of H.R. Giger, Eliran Kantor, Travis Smith, Ken Kelly, Dan Seagrave and interviews with bands like Carcass, Testament, Enslaved, Iced Earth, Cattle Decapitation, Morbid Angel, While Heaven Wept, Cormorant, Mayhem and much more.

There are only two days left in the book's crowd funding campaign and there's still time to claim one of the limited run of 400 print copies. Head over to this location to see the perks for pledging and take part in the campaign. More...

A slayer fan who needs money to see the band play live in L.A. has released a video clip spoofing the Matthew McConaughey Lincoln ad.

Featuring 3 newish tires, new floor mats, and vintage forest green paint, this '97 Ford Escort needs to be sold so Slayer tickets can be procured! Check out the clip below, and catch Slayer live on these dates:

“Working on the And Justice for Art book was an amazing experience,” comments illustrator Vertebrae33 — who has previously collaborated with artists like Slayer, Slash, and Soundgarden. “Ramon Oscuro Martos has an unbridled love of Metal art as well as a tremendous amount of passion and vision for his project. As an illustrator, there is nothing better than a vision realized and the satisfaction of the client. I am excited to see Ramon's project come to fruition!”

Martos comments: “Today’s Metal scene is overflowed with illustrators and visual artists; however, just a few posses the ability to create distinctive images, rich in detail, colors, and conceptual depth... That’s the case with Vertebrae33. Since the very beginning he was able to understand that And Justice For Art’s cover needed to be iconic and conceptually related to both Metal and Arts. I believe this book will coherently provide fans with plenty of first-hand information regarding to the creation of many iconic Metal album covers. The artwork created by Vertebrae33 perfectly introduces the reader to that world where music and visuals become one.” More...

Keeping that trend going this week is a new viral video showcasing 10 year old girl Audrey nailing the guitar on Slayer's "War Ensemble" with the game Rocksmith, which is similar to Rock Band but features a real guitar and actual lessons.

Check out the YouTube clip below to see Audrey shredding, along with some scream support from sister Kate. More...

As regular co-host Mike Smith (OverkillExposure) is away in Europe, long time writer, Diamond Oz (who is ironically, from and residing in Europe) filled in for him to discuss with Kevin Perez (n0thinghead) some of the biggest stories of late.

They begin by talking about the new Cannibal Corpse material, before discussing the forthcoming Slayer tour of North America, where they will be joined by Exodus and Suidical Tendencies and then wrapping things up with an in depth discussion about the new Mastodon album, "Once More 'Round the Sun."

Check out the podcast at this location and feel free to leave us your feedback!

When Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies, and Exodus played a handful of dates together this past May, every date was sold out. With reviews like "the best show in years that I've been blessed to witness," "a metalhead's dream come true," and "...an onslaught of heart-pounding tunes during an evening full of awesome head banging action," how could this trinity of thrash legends not join up again for a full-on road trip?

With Scion proudly presenting, Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies, and Exodus will hit the road this fall, kicking off November 12th in Oakland, CA, playing through to December 5th in Detroit, MI. The confirmed itinerary is below.

Slayer fan club members are invited to take advantage of a ticket pre-sale that will begin this Wednesday, June 25 at 10AM (local time) and ends on Thursday, June 26 at 5:00PM (local time). Fan club members will receive an email with instructions for ticket purchasing. Tickets go on sale to the public this Friday, June 27 at 10:00AM (local time).

Said Slayer's Tom Araya, "We are way fucking excited about hitting the road again with Suicidal and Exodus. Fucking intense. See you in the fall."

Added Mike Muir, Suicidal Tendencies' vocalist, "Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies and Exodus, for only six shows? They were a blast, but everyone knew that wouldn't be enough. Now's your chance to see what everyone else was screaming about. ST definitely can't wait 'til November to do it all again!"

"This monumental tour is a heavy metal collision of epic proportions," added Exodus vocalist Steve 'Zetro' Souza who has just rejoined the band. "For my first tour back with Exodus, I'm beyond excited to be on the road with my brothers in true thrash metal! I'm also looking forward to meeting and hanging out with all of the fans on this heavy as hell tour." More...

Sonisphere Festival returned to Finland last week, to start off the festival season in Helsinki with a bang! Despite the fact that it is Spring and we’ve had hot weather rivaling the Mediterranean this year; we were instead treated to a cold downpour, which only the bravest of metal fans dared endure. Despite the less then summery weather, the turnout was dense, though admittedly covered in less then festive rainwear.

The dark sky was a glaring contrast to the laid back vibe of the festival hosted by Live Nation. Still the atmosphere remained upbeat; as Metallica and Slayer were to be headlining; and the instinct to nest indoors was trampled by the drive to see two such legends live! More...